Hiding Something
by Aurora Borealis 97
Summary: Lancer assigns an essay about a metaphorical line. Any line. He is shocked when Danny actually turns it in, but something's up. But what?
1. The Line

**Ugh, I'm so BORED! And I have no will to do any of my others, so, apparently, I'm just gonna do a bunch of random stuff! Enjoy!**

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**"Class, for today's homework you have to write about a metaphorical line. Any line! Like the line between right and wrong, the line between success and failure, any line at all! Class dismissed!"

Danny thought for a minute. He knew what line he would write about. He walked on to his next class.

The next day, he had made his essay, shocking Mr. Lancer by actually turning in his assignment. Mr. Lancer watched as Danny shot a nervous look at his friends, who looked worriedly back, and started to go through the essays that night. He got a lot of essays on the line between right and wrong, black and white, and success and failure. Two were because he had suggested them and the other was because it was easy.

He sighed when he got to Danny's. Well, his was different, at least, but it would probably be badly written, judging from the few assignments he had ever turned in. He started to read through it.

_

* * *

The Line Between Life and Death_

A line. The line between life and death. Everyone says it's there, clear and distinct. But is it clear? Is it even truly real? Maybe, maybe not. Life is when you're warm, breathing, your heart is beating, but is death really that different? Not really. Few know what it is like to walk the blurred line between life and death. Only three.

Three walk the line between life and death, never again to be truly on the side of life, but unlikely to ever be truly on the side of death. Not alive, not dead, but walking a line in between, never to have a normal existence. Full of pain, full of joy, even full of emptiness at times. Few know who they are and the line they walk, but walk the line they do. They just walk along the blurred line, tilting back and forth as if on a tightrope, achieving much or achieving nothing.

Most say ghosts have no feelings. They say all they feel is malevolence and hate. But they do have feelings, just as complex as those of humans. There are good ghosts, there are bad ghosts, just as there are good humans and bad humans. All the ghosts humans come across are mostly bad ghosts, but bad ghosts have feelings too. Ghosts are just like humans in most ways.

Those who walk the thin line between life and death are the only ones who could truly understand both. Humans and ghosts say they understand each other, but they don't. Ghosts understand humans better than humans understand ghosts, but even they do not understand everything. Those who walk the thin line between life and death understand both to the fullest extent they can be understood. Ghosts... are almost exactly like humans.

Does the thin line between life and death truly exist? I'm not so sure.

* * *

Lancer stared at the essay. Did Daniel truly write this? He looked quickly up at the name. Danny Fenton.

Softly, he put an A+ up in the corner. "Perhaps the most thoughtful thing he's written." He commented to himself. Then he frowned. He would talk to Danny about this.

The next day, he called Daniel to his desk to talk.

"Daniel," he asked, gesturing to the essay. "what is this?"

Danny smiled softly. "My parents aren't the only ones to know about ghosts. But they don't truly understand them. Few do."

Lancer stared at Danny as he got up and walked out of the classroom. Swiftly, he decided. Danny was hiding something. But what? And how was he to find out?

Essays. He had first gotten Danny to open up with an essay. Perhaps...

Up on the board, he wrote, _Fear._

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_**OK, I've wanted to do one of these forever, but I'm still attributing the original idea to PsychoticNari, who wrote an excellant story called _Essay's. _That's where I first got the idea to actually do one. The essays won't be superb, but still. Originally, this was gonna be a oneshot, but whatever. I don't care anymore. XD Bye! Please R&R!**


	2. Fear

**This, right here. is me being weird. WHAT THE HECK IS THAT BEEPING NOISE? There is a random beeping noise in my house and no one has any idea what it is! D:**

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The next day, Lancer had them write the essay in class, to sooner see Danny's essay, which he was, at this point, greatly interested in.

"Today's essay is on your greatest fear. You will write it in class today. Begin." said Mr. Lancer distractedly.

Danny set his pencil on the paper and wrote. After class, he handed it in and Lancer immediately read it. After the class left, of course.

_

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My Greatest Fear_

My greatest fear is _him. He _is the most evil ghost of all time. _He _hasn't an ounce of humanity left within him. _He _has even less humanity than a normal ghost, which have just enough for human feelings and sentience. _He _only has enough for sentience and intelligence.

_He _hates everyone and _he _has enough power to take over the world. _He _also isn't even from this timeline. _He _has been taken out of the time stream, but _he _is still here.

I wish to speak as little as possible about _him. He _is currently in a Fenton thermos in Clockwork's tower. There he stays. For now, and hopefully forever. _He _is and forever will be my greatest fear.

* * *

Lancer frowned. Very confusing, and much shorter than the last one. He still gave it an A.

He would speak again with Danny. Or perhaps not... he would just assign more essays.

He wrote, _Insanity, _as the next topic.

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**Sorry, but I really wanted to post again today, but I CAN'T CONCENTRATE! Too much _beeping! _Ack! BEEPS! THEY WON'T STOP!**


	3. Insanity

**Yay, new one! At least one person correctly guessed a phrase that is contained within this essay. **

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Lancer wanted to see Danny's essay more and more at this point. What was up with that boy? This time, Mr. Fenton was not the first to turn in his essay, and so he had to wait a while to read his as a result.

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_Insanity_

Insanity is many things. Insanity could be a weird old woman who likes cats too much. Insanity could be a mental condition. Insanity could be a seriously crazed-up frootloop who really needs a cat. Insanity could be attacking those protected by a ghost whose obsession is to protect. All of those things are crazy.

But it all goes back to that, doesn't it? To be evil is also to be crazy. No one starts killing people without stopping unless their crazy. Even obsessiveness is not quite on that level of craziness. Evilness is also crazy, pure evil is crazy. Not right. Completely wrong.

Insanity is many things. I've seen quite a few. Have you?

* * *

Lancer stood to pace. Mr. Fenton was indeed confusing. What did this all lead up to? Certainly not to a normal teenage problem. That made no sense. So what was it?

With a sigh, he settled down to go back over the other essays. This would be a long week. By the end of it, he hoped to get to the bottom of this.

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**I know that these are a bit short, but I'm kinda short on where to go with these until I finish step one. Which is two more chapters. And also let me know if you think that Danny is giving too much away. I don't think so, but he might be. And again, sorry for the short chapters! They'll lengthen soon!**


	4. Fame

**Yeah, I made a new one. Hope you like it, it's a little longer. I hope.**

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Lancer had finally decided what to put for the next assignment for an essay. Up on the board, he wrote: Fame. That might not quite help him figure it out, but it would be interesting enough.

As the class came in, Danny looked up to the board and raised an eyebrow. Perhaps he would have more to say here than on the subject of insanity.

Danny got out a pencil and paper and started to write, looking almost irritated. What could make him irritated about this?

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_Fame_

Everybody wants to be famous, right? Not if they really knew what fame was. People chasing after you, not a moment of privacy in your life. Or afterlife, if you're a ghost.

Danny Phantom is, of course, famous. But he doesn't like it, does he? Have you ever seen him being swarmed by fangirls without running - or rather flying - away? No. So he doesn't like it, obviously. But that doesn't mean he tries to get rid of it, simply because the media is so persistent that they won't leave him alone.

Other people like it, or perhaps, pretend to like it. But really, think about it. Fame is purely a lack of privacy. People watching your every move. Would you like it if every time you got together or broke up with someone, it was on the front page of the newspaper? Would you like it if every little thing about you was in every magazine in the country? Would you like that? I sure wouldn't.

Would you?

* * *

_Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, _where was this coming from? The way he explained it, it made sense and sounded immensely unappealing. But what teen in their right mind didn't want to be well-known? Clearly, Danny didn't, but where was this coming from? And how did he know so well the thoughts of Phantom? _How? _

This didn't make any sense. He put one last topic up. This, perhaps, would solve it. If not, he would persist to next week.

_Danny Phantom._

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**Ugh. These are short. On the bright side, stage one only has one more chapter, then I can get on to the part involving an as-of-yet unknown storyline. Unknown even to me. Bye! R&R! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO! XD**


	5. Danny Phantom

**This one... I'm not sure. He'll be subtle. I think. You make your own judgment. **

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This might not be the right subject either, but it would answer some questions, if not the big question. With luck, this would be the last one. If not... he could do more.

Danny came in, looked up, and his eyes widened. I could practically hear him thinking, _Ah! Why?_

He sat down and hesitantly began to write. Sam nodded at him sympathetically.

* * *

_Danny Phantom_

Danny Phantom is considered an enigma among ghosts. He is only an enigma among them in that he protects humans. People say he also acts human, has feelings, can feel pain.

But that is not true. He _does _have feelings, he _does _act human, and he _does _feel pain. But so does every other ghost.

He is also considered evil by some to be evil. He is not. If he was, why would he risk existence and limb to save us every day? Thrown into brick walls by ghosts, tossed into the sidewalk, flying through the air, all to save us, or to, as my parents think, pretend to? No. No, he wouldn't.

So why do people insist that he is evil? Is it because he is a ghost? Is it because he is different?

Is it because he doesn't fit into our ideas of the difference between life and death?

Maybe. There is no decipherable good reason. So why?

* * *

Another essay. Another mystery. How did this human boy get into the ghost boy's head so well? It all seemed to fit his idea of the workings of Phantom's head, but how? He never would have thought of it.

He watched calmly as Phantom fought a ghost outside. Phantom had it well in hand, and he recognized the ghost as nothing to worry about. He was pretty sure the ghost called itself to Cube Ghost. Odd name, but oh, well.

He was suddenly struck by the similarities in posture of the Dannys, and then the identical-ness of their names. They had the same name. Ignoring the fact that Phantom was in the air, they had the same posture. The face, smug smile, body shape, even, now that he thought about it, to a certain extent, their personalities were alike. When Mr. Fenton wasn't in the classroom or school, that is. But Mr. Lancer had seen him enough in other places to have an idea of his true personality, and it was much like Phantom's.

As he watched Phantom fly off, odd thermos in hand, he thought even more. If, Danny was in fact, Phantom, as he fervently hoped not, it would explain everything. But how?

The accident. Danny hadn't been in class for a week, and had suddenly been clumsy afterward. Thinking back, he should have known that that much ectoplasm would have had _some _kind of effect on him, though he surely wouldn't have thought of this.

But it would explain so much. The constant bathroom excuses, the dashing around, the constant state of alertness, though not focused on him, the absences. Everything.

He would have to talk to a certain black-haired boy tomorrow.

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**Yay, longer! I actually did this yesterday, but I put it off. So, part 1 is finally complete, now I can move one. R&R, you know you desire to! My Ghost Radar says so! XD Bye!**


	6. Understanding Ghosts

**Yay, plot line, engaged! Or, at least, it's started to. Danny's a little lecture-y and indignant, but I think he's okay.**

I do not own Danny Phantom.

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Chapter 6

The next day, Mr. Lancer called Danny after school,

"Mr. Fenton. There is a certain connection between you and Phantom that I think you haven't told anybody," he said, without preamble.

Danny remained silent.

"Must I get more specific? Daniel, based on the information, content, and emotion of your essays, particularly the Fame, Line, and Danny Phantom ones, along with many physical and psychological similarities, I suspect that you are Danny Phantom."

Danny lowered his head, hiding his expression, while he made a quick decision, he lifted it again and said, "Yes. I am Danny Phantom."

And he changed.

A ring appeared at his waist, then split, one going up and the other going down, one passing over a red-and-white t-shirt to change it to a black-and-white hazmat top, a pale face to make it glow, blue eyes to turn them green, and black hair to turn it white. The other went down, making the rest of his outfit a hazmat suit.

"Guardians of Ga'Hoole!" Mr. Lancer exclaimed. He had been expecting something along those lines, but it still took him completely by surprise. Was that even possible?

Danny waited quietly for a reaction. As the minutes stretched on, he lowered his head, hiding his expression again, and started rambling, filling the silence nervously.

"L-look, I know you probably think I'm a freak, and that I'm not human anymore, or even maybe that I no longer have feelings, I-I get that. But, Mr. Lancer, can you _please _not tell anyone? If you do, the Guys in White..." He gulped. "Well, they've said that they have 'lots and lots of really painful experiments' planned for the Ghost Boy."

Mr. Lancer snapped out of it then. He looked straight at Danny and said,

"Daniel, you aren't a freak. You are a student who is special, mature, and responsible to the extent of their priorities and ability. I won't tell a soul, but answer me one question. Why don't you let the professionals handle the ghosts?"

Danny met his eyes, almost defiant. "Mr. Lancer, these so-called professionals are incompetents, right down to the government-funded Guys in White. The only people capable of fighting ghosts, and fighting them well, are ghosts, half-ghosts, and the few humans who actually understand most of how a ghost's mind works. My parents' inventions are brilliant, true, but they can't use them effectively, because of their prejudices, what they've been told, what they think they know."

"But your parents _do _understand ghosts. They came and gave a lecture," Mr. Lancer insisted, unaware of the rant this statement would bring.

Danny's eyes flashed but stayed blue. He crossed his arms. "And what did the tell you in that lecture? That ghosts are emotionless? That's what they want you to think. Ghosts sometimes feel emotions even stronger than humans do, but they also consider emotion a weakness. It's almost a defense mechanism that the more emotion a ghost feels, the less is openly shown.

"Did they say that ghosts feel no pain? There is a reason their weapons are so effective.

"Did they say that ghosts are mindless killing machines? They have diplomatic skills, logic, sentience, morals, adaptability, reasoning, and common sense, proved time and time again.

"Did they say all ghosts are evil? They've never seen the nice ones. The ones that come here are usually evil, but the ones in the Ghost Zone just want to be left in peace.

"Did they even touch upon the basics of ghost battle tactics? Basic hand-to-hand, witty banter, underground battle, aerial battle, scare tactics, trickery, surprise attacks. I doubt it.

"No, Mr. Lancer. My parents know nothing about how a ghost's mind works."

For the second time in fifteen minutes, Mr. Lancer was stunned. Supposed professionals, judging by the venom in Danny's voice as he spoke, stating fact after fact, can't have set either foot or jet pack in the Ghost Zone.

"Who are the humans that understand ghosts, then?"

"Sam, Tucker, and Jazz. Valerie gets it better than my parents, but only the battle tactics part. She doesn't understand their minds, their draw to their obsession, their need to fill said obsession."

Mr. Lancer looked curious. "What's your obsession? Do you even have one?"

Danny scowled, offended. "Number one rule of basic ghost manners, _never _ask a ghost what their obsession is. I do have one, and I'd hoped that by now it was clear enough, but apparently not."

"What other basic manners are there? If, by chance, I meet a good ghost, I don't want to offend them by accident."

"Mostly, the same rules for humans apply. The only change is the addition of never entering another ghost's lair uninvited, and no ending ghosts' afterlives."

"Where do you fit into ghost... society?"

"Depends on which power pyramid you use. One is physical power. I'm high on that one, I'm told I'm one of the most powerful ghost out there. But I'm real low on the social scale, because I'm half human. Another is based on allies, and I'm high on that one too, because I'm friends with Frostbite, leader of the Far Frozen, Dora, princess of Aragon, and Clockwork, ghost master of time. Talk about friends in high places."

So the ghost social system was every bit as complex as the human one. Interesting. "Do ghosts have their own language?"

"Aki."

"Huh?"

"That means yes. It's called Feuglacian."

"Interesting. Daniel-" and that was all he got out before he was interrupted by a ghost phasing through the wall, bellowing,

"Ghost child!"

Danny scowled and whirled. "Come to take another try at hanging my pelt, Skulker?"

Mr. Lancer cringed.

Skulker snorted. "Of course! What else, whelp?"

"I thought maybe you'd come to offer some doves of peace you'd skinned," Danny said sarcastically.

"Never, ghost child!" said Skulker, firing a missile and beginning the battle.

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**So, whatcha think? Good? Bad? Got advice? Got critique? Give it to me, unless it's a flame, in which case, you can keep it. I don't wanna get burned. GIMME DA REVIEWS! REVVVIIEWWS! Bye! R&R, please!**


	7. Contained

**Hey, people, Aurora Borealis 97 is back! Sorry for the long wait, but updating'll be a lot easier now. So, without further ado, CHAPTER SEVEN!**

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Chapter 7

Danny held out a hand and blasted the missile, causing it to explode. He was blown back and Lancer ducked behind his desk, watching the battle fearfully.

"Don't you ever get lonely, hunting all alone?" called Danny.

"I'm not alone, whelp. This time, I brought helpers!" Skulker said smugly. Spectra phased through the wall.

Mr. Lancer fainted. Could he not even stand her mere presence?

Danny turned from one to the other, watching them, waiting for them to make the first move. Skulker struck first, firing another missile and hitting him in the chest. He struggled up and tried to put up a fight, but the last few days were hectic and he'd barely gotten any rest of any kind. He was mentally, emotionally (Spectra was there, after all), and physically spent. After a few minutes of fighting, he collapsed into the blackness.

When he awoke, it was to find Mr. Lancer already awake and staring around, worried.

They were in a containment chamber. No windows. No doors. A ghost shield.

What else could go wrong here? He must have been more exhausted than he thought, if he couldn't even beat Skulker and Spectra, teamed up or not…

Now… How was he supposed to get out of there? More importantly, how was he supposed to get out of there... with Mr. Lancer _and _himself both intact?

It was a mystery worthy of Houdini himself.

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**Alrighty then! That's that chapter put up. The next one's already done, so I'm waiting for five good reviews to put it up. Hop you liked it, and again, sorry for the wait! Bye! R&R!**


	8. Ready to Battle

**OK, the goal of five reviews was reached rather quickly, so behold! Chapter 8! The next one, you'll just have to wait for me to finsih it. This is kinda short too though.**

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Chapter 8

Danny continued to pace. Out of here… out of here… out of here…

Danny hated being trapped. It made him feel helpless. He wasn't supposed to be helpless. He was supposed to give help to the helpless.

He suddenly turned and lashed out at a wall. It trembled and cracked slightly; He had used a powerful blast. And if a mere blast could hurt it...

"Stand back, Mr. Lancer."

Mr. Lancer took a pace back instantly.

Danny took a deep breath and Wailed. The walls crack, bent, and finally exploded outward. He had done it. They were out and the ghost shield generator was broken.

He fell to his hands and knees, panting. He was still in ghost form, but he was now pretty tired. Mr. Lancer walked up to him.

"Are you all right, Daniel?" he asked, concerned.

Danny nodded, still panting, but then got up. He looked around.

"We're still in the human world," he noted. "What is Skulker up to?"

Suddenly, a shot of bright green went over Mr. Lancer's shoulder. He yelped and ducked. Both turned to see Skulker. Danny dashed in front of Mr. Lancer and got into a battle stance, ready to answer the challenge.

Skulker smirked. "Not so fast, ghost child. The shot went over the _human's _shoulder, not yours. I fight the human."

Two pairs of eyes widened.

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**Dun dun dun duuuuuun! XD Right then! I'll work on the next chapter soon. R&R! Bye!**


	9. Fight! Fight! Fight!

**OK, the goal of five reviews was reached rather quickly, so behold! Chapter 8! The next one, you'll just have to wait for me to finsih it. This is kinda short too though.**

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Chapter 9

Danny quickly looked between the two, thinking fast. Lancer wouldn't stand a chance against a the Box Ghost, let alone Skulker. So just letting him do the honorable-fight thing was out of the question. But Skulker had to think that Lancer was doing it, lest he either make up for it by making the town miserable, or stalk Lancer until he caught him alone and fought him then. So what was left?

Fool Skulker. Fight, using a duplicate, in Mr. Lancer's body, without ghost powers.

Great.

So Danny pretended.

He relaxed his muscles and stood straight up, bowing his head in 'submission', while really hiding the green glow of his eyes as he created an invisible duplicate.

"Sorry, Mr. Lancer. You're on your own, I can't do anything." _Or so Skulker will think._

Mr. Lancer screamed – in a very adult-y, manly way, of course. "What?"

Danny looked back up. "Sorry."

Skulker smirked at him, giving Danny's duplicate the perfect opportunity to overshadow Lancer and cut off the green glow, with no one any the wiser. As Skulker's eyes were on Danny, he missed the momentary stiffening and eye-glow, as well as the telltale gasp.

Skulker then turned back to the now-overshadowed Lancer. "And now, human, we fight."

The two slowly started to circle each other, Skulker in midair and Danny-Lancer on the ground. Danny had to admit it was an odd sight, even from the eyes of his original.

Then Danny remembered something. "Lancer, catch!" he whispered, rolling the Thermos toward them and teleporting somewhere else so it seemed like he hadn't done it. Lancer picked it up and continued to circle.

They proceeded to fight as Skulker took out his blade and slashed it at Lancer. Danny decided to use Lancer's admittedly suicidal-seeming tactics; he rolled under Skulker, jumped up, and latched onto his back, where Skulker immediately began to flail in a very undignified way as Danny, as Lancer, attempted to unscrew his head. Skulker eventually threw Lancer into the ground, but he barely winced, and then repeated his tactics, with the event repeating itself twice more before Lancer actually managed to unscrew his head so it fell off. Lancer then managed to pluck out the little frog-sized ghost and suck it into the Thermos.

Lancer landed on his bottom on the ground and Danny's duplicate flipped out of him, phasing straight into Danny's human body. His eyes glowed green for a moment as his body reabsorbed the energy.

Lancer looked straight at Danny.

"What just happened?"

Danny laughed. "You didn't honestly think I expected you to fight Skulker all on your own, did you?"

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**Heh heh heh... How many of you saw that coming? XD HEART-STOPPING MOMENT! XD R&R!**


	10. Slip of the Tongue

**Sorry for the wait. But, I've got this chapter done. Eventually.**

**...**

**Next one will be faster. Promise.**

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Chapter 10

Slip of the Tongue

Lancer blinked. "Um… Yes?"

Danny laughed harder. "Come on, you're not a ghost hunter! Ghostly etiquette aside, I couldn't let him kill you, now, could I?"

Lancer blanched. "That… would not be good, no."

Then Danny smirked. "And besides, it's downright disgraceful for a ghost of his caliber to fight a human, especially if they lose. Perhaps I'll 'let it slip' to somebody. Ember, perhaps?"

Lancer looked confused. "Eh?"

"His girlfriend," Danny explained, grinning. Lancer blinked. Then Danny continued, "Come on – let's get out of here."

He flew up to Lancer, and hesitated. Lancer looked at him curiously. Danny shifted.

"Um, do you want me to… fly you to the school? So you can drive home?" he asked hesitantly.

Lancer looked uncertain for a moment, then nodded.

Still looking uncomfortable, Danny picked him up under his armpits, and flew off toward the school, where Lancer's car was, so that he could drive himself home.

As Danny's head flickered back and forth for the umpteenth time in the long, extremely awkward silence between the pair, Mr. Lancer finally burst out,

"What are you looking for?"

"I'm making sure that there aren't any _ghost hunters _around," he said, saying _ghost hunters _like they were horrible.

"Aren't you a ghost hunter?" Lancer asked.

"Well, yes, but I'm the only one I know of with a strict catch-and-release policy. Va- The Red Huntress' is more like catch-and-destroy, and my parents' is more like catch-dissect-and-destroy. So you can see why any ghost, especially me, would rather get caught by me than any other. Well, except I can't catch myself, that's Jazz's job," he snorted to himself.

Lancer caught Danny's near-slip, and wondered what the identity of the mysterious Red Huntress was.

"Who's the Red Huntress? Do you know her? Do _I _know her?"

Instead of answering, Danny just said, "Not my secret to tell, so leave it be."

Lancer fell silent.

When they reached the school, Danny put him on the ground gently, and landed uncomfortably. After a moment of silence, Danny turned to fly off.

"Danny," Lancer spoke suddenly. He turned and looked at the overweight teacher curiously. "Let me help."

"How?" Danny asked. "Medic?"

Lancer frowned, offended. "You automatically assume I can't fight?"

Danny sighed. "Mr. Lancer, you really shouldn't fight, you'd have a hard time?"

Now seriously offended, Lancer bit out, "Why? Because I haven't got freak powers?" He instantly regretted this when Danny immediately donned a mask.

"No. It's because your _so-called tactics _are _suicidal, _because you can't _think like a ghost, _because you don't have a _quarter _of the required _fitness, _because you can't _operate _my parents' _equipment, _and because _you can't accept a little difference!_" Danny hissed. With each biting, yet accurate remark, he took another step forward until he was inches from Lancer's face. "I'm a freak, am I? Then, good-bye, Lancer. I'll see you in class." And with that, he turned transparent and dove into the ground.

Lancer blanched. "Daniel…" he trailed off, staring at the spot where his strange, half-ghost student had vanished. "What have I done?"

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**Dun dun dun duuuuuun! Lancer's got a little temper that caused a little slipup! XD R&R!**


	11. Prepare of Essence of Awkward

**See, I told you it would be faster, now that I've finally gotten off my lazy butt and started typing! It's even a little bit longer this time, too. Now I've finally decided on a halfway decent plot course, I won't just be meandering around in the story, which is why it took so long. Hope you like it!**

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Chapter 11

The next day, in class, Danny was late again. This gave Mr. Lancer the perfect opportunity to make Danny talk to him.

"Danny, you've been late too many times. We'll talk after class," he stated firmly. There, that would clear up the inevitable anger and/or irritation from Danny and would still force them to talk. Kind of. Maybe.

Oh, who was he kidding? He wouldn't be surprised if they merely stood in silence.

Throughout the class, Danny kept his head down low as he took notes, not falling asleep, not passing notes, not even making eye contact with anybody. Sam and Tucker continuously threw worried glances at him, but didn't try to engage him in note passing, and although Mr. Lancer was fairly certain that there was frequent note passing occurring, he saw none. He only left once, short enough for it to actually be a bathroom break, although he could have sworn he heard a brief "I AM-", cut off by a sucking noise.

After class, Danny stalked lightly over to Lancer, his head bowed slightly, covering his eyes with his slightly too-long hair.

"Yes, Mr. Lancer?" he muttered resentfully. It couldn't have been clearer that he wished to be anywhere but here. It was equally clear that he hadn't cooled off in the slightest since the overweight teacher had slipped up; If anything, he was angrier, that much was clear in the slightly contorted expression and tense muscles. At least he hadn't just phased out of the classroom; That was something, right? That meant he was being given a chance, didn't it?

"Daniel- Danny. My words yesterday were hurtful, thoughtless, and about up to the standards of a five year old who got his toy taken away. I completely apologize for my vindictive comment, although I don't truly expect you will accept my apology so quickly. I allowed my temper to get the best of me, and despite me being the grown man in the situation, I was less mature, even when I let that word slip past my lips, you still maintained composure, and that is something that I am expected to be able to do, and I didn't. I do make mistakes – I am, after all, only human," he forced a strained chuckle at that comment in this particular situation. Danny's face didn't change – at least, not what he could see of it - and after a moment he continued. "I will not be reporting this particular – _situation _(he almost slipped up and said issue, but that would not have helped this at all)_ – _to your parents, of course, or anyone else for that matter. It, after all, is not my secret to tell." Danny relaxed ever so slightly at this. "I will allow you to continue, as I expect I could do little to stop you in any case, but I _will _find a way to help, even if it does not involve my, ah, _suicidal fighting tactics_," he forced out. "So, I suppose I'm saying – I'm sorry, Daniel, for multiple offenses against you."

Danny's expression had been unreadable throughout the unplanned miniature speech, but now he appeared to be mulling the words over in his head as Lancer tensed, waiting to see what his student would say. Eventually, his expression turned hard, and Lancer gulped slightly.

"I forgive you, Mr. Lancer," he said softly, in a voice that did not match his expression. He wondered at this for a moment, before it was answered as Danny added, in a slightly harder tone of voice,

"But forgiven does not mean forgotten."

* * *

**Anybody think that Danny was a little too quick to forgive? Well, forgive-ish. I thought maybe, hence that last line. Next chapter will be the thing from Danny's POV, so it might be kind of short, but it should be out tomorrow, if I get computor access, that is. Anyways, R&R!**


	12. Prepare for Essence of Awkward Part 2

**Um... Technically I _did _get it up when I said I would... even if it _was _half an hour before the day was done. One a random note, blackberries are very yummy, but hurt when you pick them. One arm is coated with scratches. Anyways, read and review!**

* * *

Chapter 12

Danny was fuming. How dare he? He, a human, was just like any other – superior about their human-ness, assuming that just because humans were one of the few sentient creatures out there, and many ghosts were mindless, that they were superior to every other existing creature. Freak powers… As if, he only had one power that no other ghost shared, and if he was suggesting that ghosts were freaks… Well, that just proved Danny's point, didn't it?

He could practically hear Spectra's voice, whispering in his ear, agreeing with Lancer, however…

_"Look at you. What are you? A ghost trying to fit in with humans? Or a creepy little boy with creepy little powers? You're a freak! Not a ghost, not a boy! Who cares for a thing like you?"_

Not Lancer, it seemed.

Deciding he had spent enough time brooding in his room, staring at Lancer's homework assignment (the only one assigned today), he decided to go out and blow off some steam.

He turned ghost abruptly, flew out the wall, and soared off at a high speed.

He somehow located the Box Ghost.

"Hello, misplaced aggression," he muttered.

In under five minutes, the Box Ghost had been beaten, Danny had cooled off slightly, and he now just flew around at top speed, trying _not _to think about Mr. Lancer. By the time it was nine forty five, he could head home, let his parents know he was on time, and finish that accursed English assignment from his prejudiced teacher. Or maybe he could burn it, he would be getting detention anyway…

The next day in class, he did his best to ignore the teacher, still steaming with anger. However, he would be forced to speak after class. Well, that sucked. He did turn in his homework assignment, but he refused to make eye contact throughout the class.

Once he had reached the desk, he mumbled, "Yes, Mr. Lancer?" He tried to keep as much resentment out of his voice as he could, but judging from Mr. Lancer's apprehensive expression, he hadn't succeeded.

"Daniel- Danny. My words yesterday were hurtful, thoughtless, and about up to the standards of a five year old who got his toy taken away. I completely apologize for my vindictive comment, although I don't truly expect you will accept my apology so quickly. I allowed my temper to get the best of me, and despite me being the grown man in the situation, I was less mature, even when I let that word slip past my lips, you still maintained composure, and that is something that I am expected to be able to do, and I didn't. I do make mistakes – I am, after all, only human," he forced a strained chuckle at that comment in this particular situation. Danny's face didn't change, although he resented the attempt, and after a moment he continued. "I will not be reporting this particular – _situation _(he almost slipped up and said issue, but that would not have helped this at all)_ – _to your parents, of course, or anyone else for that matter. It, after all, is not my secret to tell." Danny relaxed ever so slightly at this. His secret was safe. "I will allow you to continue, as I expect I could do little to stop you in any case, but I _will _find a way to help, even if it does not involve my, ah, _suicidal fighting tactics_," he forced out. "So, I suppose I'm saying – I'm sorry, Daniel, for multiple offenses against you."

Danny mulled this over. Would he forgive him? This, after all, was not something easily forgiven, or forgotten. But wait… forgiven didn't necessarily mean forgotten. He could say he forgave him, and perhaps allow Mr. Lancer a second chance. He remembered his own words to the Alternate Vlad clearly – _"Maybe that's all anyone needs. A second chance." _He could do this. He _would _do this.

"I forgive you, Mr. Lancer," he said softly. But, feeling he needed to drive this point home, he added, in a slightly harsher tone of voice, "But forgiven does not mean forgotten."

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**Heheheh, kinda pathetic, it's so short and... unoriginal from the previous... but whatever. Hope you liked it - I'm going now. Review please!**


	13. STOP PIPA

I am fighting for Fanfiction and you should too! I know you don't want to lose this fantastic website, so help and stop this abomination.

This found on a story BY The Daughter Of Artemis (dude...don't blame me with this if you are annoyed but trying to save this website)

HEY THERE  
HEY CHECK THIS OUT FIRST VIMP SEND IT TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW  
Okay everyone pay attention, BIG NEWS AFOOT.

I recently discovered that there is a new bill called PIPA that is if is pass it will REMOVE EVERY STORY IN ALL OF FANFICTION.

The U.S government is trying to take away this site! We have to kill that bill. The thing is I am not old enough to vote. But many people who read this are. There is a fanfiction member under the penname of XxDarkxBloodxX he has more information about that, including the phone numbers of all the state senators. Check this link for more information www. fanfiction .net/s/7753936/1/PIPA and also google Bill PIPA and you will know I am not joking.

We are over 2 million members and most of them are in the United States. If we most of us work together we can kill this bill. So to every citizen reading this DON'T LET YOUR GOVERNMENT CENSOR THIS SITE. To everyone reading this who isn't a U.S citizen, make author notes like this one so that your American readers vote against this bill and I encourage the American members to spread the voice as well.

I repeat, this is no joke! We have until the January 24th. That's tomorrow! EVERYONE, FIGHT THIS BILL!

People, I have an idea. It seems that Hollywood is a major supporter of PIPA and SOPA. They even threaten Obama to don't give him any money for his reelection campaign.

So to everyone who can't vote because you are either too young or not an American citizen, you can join a world-wide boycott movement against Hollywood. From tomorrow Friday 20 to Sunday 22 of January DON'T GO TO THE MOVIE TEATHER.

Seriously, just three short days for us that we can live without movies and Hollywood will lose millions of dollars world-wide. It will also send a message to their leader: FANFICTION MEMBERS WILL FIGHT AGAINST PIPA AND SOPA. Then they might start having second thoughts.

So everyone please cooperate for the sake of this site. Just three short days for us but it will be a pain in the pocket for Hollywood, the main opposition. So let's rally against our common enemy.

We can do this people! So you know the drill and now go spread the word!

FOR FANFICTION!

I have more information everyone. Believe it or not, this cybernetic apocalypse is already starting. One of the most important websites of file exchange known as Megaupload has already been shut down by the FBI all thanks to this blasted bill. And it gets worse. I manage to find a legit list of all the sites that will be shut down (so far, the list may grow bigger).

For downloading sites, the ones scheduled for execution are:

Mediafire

Rapidshare

Uploading

Fileserve

4share

Filestube

Ares

Limeware

Emule

Edonkey

Torrents

For Blackberry cellphone related things:

Duoberry

.com

Lips

And even the social network ones like:

Facebook

Youtube

Myspace

Google ( videos )

Wikipedia

We can't allow this to happen! We have to fight! And we can fight. There is a website called www. avaaz. Org / es / save _ the _ internet. You can sign up there for the petition. It requires your email and I know many people don't like to give that away but if there has ever been a worthy cause to give your email address to, this is it. Let's face it; what use will we give our email aside from contacting other people if they shut down all these websites? An email address will became almost worthless. So go to that website and help save the internet.

By the way, if anyone wants to copy paste the information of these author's notes to PM it or post it in your own stories to help spread the word, by all means go ahead.

And remember the boycott against Hollywood; three short days for us, millions of dollars less to our opposition. We can do this people! And we will do it!

FOR FANFICTION! DOWN WITH THE BILL

Please post this on your stories and pm it. Even if you have friends not on fanfiction I'm sure you can catch there attention with youtube!

I am fighting for Fanfiction and you should too! I know you don't want to lose this fantastic website, so help and stop this abomination.

POSTED JANUARY 23RD, 2012

STOP SOPA & PIPA NOW!


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